


Nothing Without You

by geewizzle



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Date Night, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Nygmobblepositivity, Penguins, The fluffiest thing I've ever written, and also penguins, and this is the result, did i mention they're in love, ed and os are stupidly in love, ed finds him adorable, i challenged myself to write something with NO angst, major fluff, many pet names and compliments to which oswald blushes at, married couple bickering, penguin lover oswald
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 04:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17196905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geewizzle/pseuds/geewizzle
Summary: Ed pecked his lips with a smile in response, “I love you too. Now come on Happy Feet, let’s get these birds ready for their new home”.Oswald could have hit him in the stomach if he wasn’t in love with his man.“Edward, I love you. However, if you wish to continue sleeping in our warm bed and not outside on the porch in the bitter cold, then I suggest that you NEVER call me that infernal name ever again!”





	Nothing Without You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kikorangi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikorangi/gifts).



Caught up in a lovesick whirlwind, the world around them seemed like a lush dream. 

“Ed, slow down!” 

Oswald found himself limping in a rush as he tried desperately to catch up with his partner. 

Ed immediately stopped in his tracks, hurrying back to the Penguin to pick him up and carry the smaller man in his arms. 

“Ed!” Oswald gasped, not exactly accustomed the feeling of air below his feet. 

Nevertheless, Oswald griped his partner’s neck, urging Ed to pick up the pace again, in fear that the caped rodent may already be hot on their trail. 

The two villainous love birds, as they had so infamously been pinned by the tabloids, had orchestrated a raid of the city’s newly opened luxury jeweller as part of their date night rendezvous.  
Ed took note on how Oswald had kept his eye on a particular piece for weeks since the establishment opened. It was a sapphire and diamond incrusted statue of a penguin, small enough to fit in the palm of a man’s hand, but luxurious enough that even with their laundered millions, the pair couldn’t afford to purchase it. 

Therefore, it only seemed natural for Ed to steal it.

Oswald had gushed on about how “beautiful” it would look on the mantlepiece above their fireplace, pressing to Ed that it was mandatory that he have it! 

Though Oswald’s hints were nothing if not conspicuous, Ed vowed to do anything to make his partner happy. He would slaughter half the city’s population if Oswald requested it, so who was he to deny a stolen, but precious gift to his beloved? 

And why not take a few other pieces worth more than half the city while they were at it? 

Ed carefully held the weight of his boyfriend in his arms, pressing the man further to his chest as he searched for their car. 

He felt like he was floating on air, like he was flying. 

He laughed in sheer joy, exhilarated by the thrill of their crime and the love he held in his heart. 

Oswald couldn’t help but giddily laugh back, pressing his head into his partner’s neck. 

They always adored nights like these, when they would go out looking for thrills and rejecting whatever responsibilities they had. Nights filled with love and passion, both for each other and the crimes they committed. It was not often that they were unsuccessful, with Ed’s cunning and Oswald’s influence, the two men and the city knew that they were an unstoppable pair. 

Oswald looked behind Ed’s shoulder, relieved to find that they hadn’t been followed. 

Ed finally spotted the black car shaded in a street corner and began rushing towards it. 

Suddenly however, he came to a forceful halt, nearly dropping Oswald in the process. Oswald gave his partner a confused look as Ed changed their direction and began walking them towards the nearby park. 

“Edward, what are you doing?” Oswald demanded before being silenced by the man holding him. 

The streets around them were entirely vacant and the light of the full moon basked the men in a blueish glow. 

Oswald looked up at the night sky, swearing to himself that he had never seen the stars sparkle so brightly above the city before. 

Ed perched his partner down on a park bench and then swiftly sat beside him, reaching into his suit pocket. 

Oswald felt his heart race as his eyes widened at Ed’s ministrations, hope reaching his mind. Though if Ed were about to propose, Oswald thought, he wished that he at least let him wear his best suit, the velvet one with the feathers. 

Ed smirked at the other man as he revealed the jewel encrusted penguin. 

“You got it?!” Oswald gasped, too happy to be disappointed about a missed proposal. 

Ed just laughed in adoration at Oswald’s giddiness. 

“And you told me it was impossible”. 

Oswald playfully huffed at Ed’s words, delicately taking the penguin from his partner’s hands. 

“I told you to be careful, of course nothing is impossible for you”, he corrected, admiring how the jewels on the bird glittered in the moonlight. 

Edward remained silent, catching himself studying how gorgeous Oswald looked in the moment, with glow of the moon and the stars surrounding them. 

“Thank you, Eddie” Oswald spoke, now looking at Ed, their faces inches apart. 

The taller man gingerly took one of Oswald’s hands and placed a loving kiss on top of it, receiving another gasp from his partner. 

“You’re perfect” he spoke, his voice dark and velvety and tempting. 

Oswald blushed at his partner’s words, never truly knowing how to respond to words of endearment from the man he was deeply in love with. 

This only made Ed smirk greater, pleased that he could render Oswald speechless. 

“Is this why you’re brought me here?” Oswald asked, “So you could give this to me?”.

Ed shook his head and brought his hand around Oswald’s hip, bringing them both impossibly closer together. 

“I saw how nice the night sky looked, and figured it’d be romantic to just sit together underneath the stars”.

Oswald’s heart swooned at Ed’s words, asking himself whatever he did to deserve such a luxury of a man to treat him so beautifully. 

There were mornings when Oswald woke up shocking himself into believing that all that had conspired between he and Edward for the past few years was nothing more than an extremely vivid dream. 

Those beliefs were melted away when he felt soft hands curling around his body, holding him in place and warm kisses pressed like feathers to his neck. 

“You brilliant, beautiful man” Oswald whispered, peppering Ed’s cheek with kisses. 

Oswald never thought that he would find love, or that he was even deserving of it. Edward felt the same. He was convinced from a young age that he was unlovable, and his record of murdered girlfriends only imprinted this notion into Ed’s mind further. 

In the dark depths of the city, after overcoming heartbreak and betrayal the two men found each other again and could no longer deny that they were bound together by a force that they could not escape from. Love was what simultaneously brought them together and kept them apart, and it wasn’t until both Ed and Oswald overcame their fear of loving one another that they finally felt free. 

They loved each other unashamedly and unconditionally simply because they could. 

Ed smiled into Oswald’s kisses. He turned his head to kiss Oswald promptly on the lips, soft but passionate. 

“We should get going soon, dear” Oswald whispered after a few moments, breaking away from Ed’s mouth, “it’s absurdly late”.

“Yes, we better go before Gordon comes after us, or worse” Ed nodded, before standing up and holding a hand out for Oswald. 

“And besides, we’re seeing the penguins in the morning” he added, with the same devious smirk that he had been flashing his partner all night.

Oswald suddenly felt a wave of excitement as he thought about the next day’s prospect. It had been Ed’s suggestion after a night of strategizing over what to do with the Iceberg Lounge to give it a certain, in Ed’s words “je ne sais quoi”. 

Gotham’s night scene was a booming industry but with the recent edition of new clubs opening on Diamond District, directly opposite the lounge, Oswald was anxious to make a business move that would attract all the new club’s patrons like moths to the flame. 

So, Ed suggested that the only rational move would be to add real-life penguins to live in enclosures at the lounge. Attracting animal lovers and providing more nobility to Oswald’s namesake. 

Though Oswald knew that the idea of having penguins live at his club was somewhat ridiculous, he practically pounced on his partner for coming up with it. The couple were known for their flare after all. 

-  
Ed felt like his arm was about to fall out of its socket due to how hard Oswald was pulling him towards the zoo building. 

He was at least thankful that they planned to meet the penguin keeper before opening hours, that way ensuring there were no visitors in sight to catch the vicious Penguin and Riddler enter Gotham Zoo to adopt a couple of fuzzy penguins. 

When Edward “negotiated” the pair’s planned penguin exchange with the zoo administrator, it was at gun point and thus was incredibly effective. 

The pair was immediately let into the zoo through the gates by one of the guards and were free to roam around the zoo towards the penguin enclosures as they pleased.  
Edward held onto Oswald’s hand as the pair walked through the zoo with a spring in their step. They felt teenagers on a first date. 

“Sometimes, I wish we could do things like this more often” Ed spoke, catching the attention of his partner as they strolled through the butterfly enclosure. 

“I mean, like go on normal dates like to the zoo or to an art gallery, preferably one that we haven’t stolen from”, Oswald chuckled at the last part. 

He looked down at how their hands had gathered a natural swing that kept in time with their walking pace, everything falling so rhythmically in place. 

“Sometimes I wish that too” Oswald admitted, “But then I think about what we do have, our little night adventures and blood sprees and galivants to the most glamorous and expensive clubs in the city, and I realise that I wouldn’t change a thing”. 

Ed then slowed and turned towards his partner. Oswald squeezed his hand reassuringly as he continued.

“Even if we can’t court like regular people such as going to the cinema in fear of being arrested, I wouldn’t trade our quiet nights in or thrilling nights out for the world. I don’t particularly care where I am or what we do when we’re together, Ed. All I care about is spending as much time with you as possible”. 

That earned a soft kiss to the forehead from the taller man. 

“I couldn’t agree more, my love”.

Oswald smiled, “And besides my dear, we are one of a kind. What other couple spends their date nights murdering disgustingly homophobic men before dancing the night away at a gay bar?”

Ed laughed at the memory of their more recent rendezvous, “That was one hell of a night!”.

“Indeed, it was” Oswald laughed along with him, recalling how hot and flustered he got when Ed grabbed the throat of a stranger who had shouted demeaning names at him as they walked through the streets.

The pair made their way to the ‘arctic’ themed part of the zoo and were greeted with a clearly nervous teenage keeper. 

“Ugh, the p-penguins are in the tanks at the end of the path” the kid stuttered, pointing in the direction of the enclosure, “I’ve been instructed to move the penguins that you’ve ch-chosen into a cage that will be moved..”

“What? A cage!” Oswald suddenly interjected, fuming. 

The keeper jumped and so did Ed, funnily enough. 

“You will do no such thing!” Oswald threatened, stepping closer towards the young man to intimidate him.

“Oswald, relax” Ed suddenly spoke, placing his hand on the small of Oswald’s back, “I’ve arranged one of the vans to collect them” he reassured.

Oswald let out a sigh of relief, he could always count on Ed. 

“I requested the driver to fill the back with ice cubes so they’ll be plenty comfortable” he smiled. 

“What would I do without you, Ed?” Oswald smiled back, stepping backward closer to his partner. 

The pair followed the keeper towards the penguin enclosure and the first thing that Oswald noticed was how small the glass tanks were. 

“This is cruelty!” he accused at the teenager, who most likely had no say in how big or small the enclosures were anyway. 

“There’s barely any room for them to flap their flippers! And you call that a pool? That’s barely a puddle!”

Ed felt only slightly bad for the keeper as he glanced over at him physically shaking. 

“It’s okay my dear,” Ed spoke into Oswald’s ear, deep and soothing, “We’ll give them enough room to roam in the lounge that they’ll mistake it for Antarctica”.

Oswald let out another sigh of relief, forever grateful for Ed for bringing him out of his tantrums. 

“I suppose you’re right” he said to which Ed grinned at. He couldn’t help but find Oswald’s urgent concern for the fluffy birds incredibly adorable.

Oswald turned to the fuzzy penguins and tried his best to crouch down to their level, what with his twisted leg and all. 

“It’s okay little ones, soon you’ll be able to swim around and be much happier in a much bigger enclosure” he promised them. 

“Oswald, we don’t have enough room to take all of them with us” Ed warned. 

Oswald felt physically defeated at the truth spoken from his boyfriend’s lips. But how could he only take a few and leave the rest to be tortured in this god forsaken frozen hell?

“Well gosh, how do we choose who comes with us?” he asked his partner, to which Ed moved beside Oswald so he too could have a better look at the arctic birds. 

“They all look the same to me” he stated bluntly, which earned an offended gasp from Oswald. 

“They do not! I’m sure they’re all unique in their own ways!” He defended.

Ed let out a chuckle, “You’re right, you’re most definitely the cutest one” he smirked, placing a hand on Oswald’s hip to bring him closer. 

Oswald playfully nudged his partner away, “Oh god Ed, really?” he asked, trying not to blush. 

“Okay, I agree that wasn’t one of my smoothest ones” the taller man admitted, laughing into his partner’s hair, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not true”. 

Oswald simply shook his head, “For once I have to disagree with you, darling. These penguins are the cutest and sweetest animals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting” he said, more to the penguins then to Ed. 

“Even cuter than Edward?” Ed asked, referring to the dog named after him. 

“Well, he isn’t here right now is he?” Oswald whispered, now feeling guilty. 

Ed hummed, kissing his partner’s forehead before getting back on track to the matter at hand. The zoo was to open in a matter of minutes. 

“Okay Oswald, we need to pick five”.

The smaller man whined at the mention of such a small number, but nevertheless he proceeded to choose his penguins. 

“Well, I suppose from a business perspective, the younger ones will be more appealing to the patrons. So, we’ll take those five chicks” he told the keeper, pointing to the young birds huddled towards the glass. 

But then Oswald couldn’t help but accept a great urge of guilt for leaving the remaining older penguins behind. Ed noticed the disappointed look befallen on his partner’s face, and it was a look that he never wanted to see again. 

“Ozzie, perhaps we could take the others too, and keep them somewhere else? Possibly a nearby animal reserve that will take better care of them” he suggested, to which Oswald’s eyes widened at.

Oswald nearly pushed Ed over by how forcefully he swung his arms around the taller man’s neck to kiss him. 

“I love you so much!” Oswald claimed, once their lips parted. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling up at his beloved if he tried. 

Ed pecked his lips with a smile in response, “I love you too. Now come on Happy Feet, let’s get these birds ready for their new home”. 

Oswald could have hit him in the stomach if he wasn’t in love with his man.

“Edward, I love you. However, if you wish to continue sleeping in our warm bed and not outside on the porch in the bitter cold, then I suggest that you NEVER call me that infernal name ever again!”

Ed just chuckled once more as he kissed his love’s warm cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all this was a challenge for myself to write something with NO angst and this was the result. I think it's cute as hell but feel free to throw bricks at me if you think its a lil OOC or whatnot. Hope this gave you something to smile about :) 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
